Personal Life and Career

Buckingham was born in Palo Alto, California, and grew up in the San Francisco Bay Area town of Atherton, the junior child of Rutheda (née Elliott) and Morris Buckingham. He had two older brothers, Jeffrey and Gregory.

In 1966, Buckingham enrolled at San Jose State University to study art. He dropped out after one semester to focus on his music career. Nicks and Buckingham’s first album, Buckingham Nicks, was released in 1973. The album was not a commercial success, but its single “Frozen Love” received some airplay on FM radio stations. The duo toured extensively to support the album. In 1974, Buckingham and Nicks joined Fleetwood Mac. The group’s 1977 album Rumours was a commercial and critical success, and spawned the singles “Go Your Own Way” and “Dreams”. Buckingham left the group in 1987 to pursue a solo career.

His first album, Law and Order, was released in 1981. It was a critical and commercial success, reaching number 32 on the Billboard 200 album chart. Go Insane (1984) was the second album, and it was also a critical and commercial disappointment. It did, however, spawn the hit single “Go Insane”, which reached number 23 on the Billboard Hot 100. In 1998, Buckingham was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of Fleetwood Mac.

Buckingham’s third album, Out of the Cradle (1992), was his first solo album in 8 years. It was also a commercial and critical success, reaching number 128 on the Billboard 200 and 51 on the UK Albums Chart. In 1993, Buckingham and Nicks rejoined Fleetwood Mac for Say You Will, a studio album in 2003. The album peaked at number 3 on the Billboard 200 and became the band’s best-selling album since Tusk. Buckingham toured with Fleetwood Mac in support of Say You Will from 2003 to 2004.

On October 3, 2006, Buckingham released his fourth solo album, Under the Skin. The album only reached number 80 on the Billboard 200. Lindsey Buckingham’s sixth solo album, Seeds We Sow, was released on September 6, 2011. The album peaked at number 45 on the Billboard 200 and received positive reviews from critics. Buckingham embarked on a solo tour in support of the album in October 2011. On November 14, 2012, Buckingham released his live album, One Man Show, which was recorded during his 2011 solo tour. In 2016, Buckingham and Christine McVie returned to the studio to record their first album together in 25 years. The album, titled Lindsey Buckingham Christine McVie, was released on June 9, 2018. The album’s first single, “In My World”, was released on April 14, 2017. The album peaked at number 17 on the Billboard 200 and received positive reviews from critics. Buckingham and McVie embarked on a joint tour in support of the album in June 2018. The tour concluded in October 2018. On January 28, 2018, Buckingham was fired from Fleetwood Mac by his fellow band members. The firing followed a disagreement between Buckingham and the band over their upcoming tour schedule; Buckingham wanted to delay the tour so he could continue working on a solo album, while the band wanted to begin touring immediately.

Buckingham released his seventh solo album, Lindsey Buckingham, on September 17, 2021. The album peaked at number 13 on the Top Album Sales. The album was produced by Lindsey Buckingham. Buckingham has released three live albums.

Buckingham has been married to Kristen Messner from 2000 to June 2, 2021. He has three children: William Gregory(born July 8, 1998), Leelee in 2000, and Stella in 2004.

Discography